Old, deadly news

If, like me, you've lived in Southern California for any substantial length of time, this is going to sound awfully familar.

New earthquake research confirms the southern end of the San Andreas fault near Los Angeles is overdue for a Big One.

The lower section of the fault has not produced a major earthquake in more than three centuries. The new study, which analyzed 20 years of data and is considered one of the most detailed analyses yet, found that stress has been building up since then, and that the fault could rupture at any moment.

"The southern section of the fault is fully loaded for the next big event," said geophysicist Yuri Fialko of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla.

Predicting exactly when that might happen, however, is beyond scientists' ability.

Really? Scientists can't predict earthquakes? Who knew?

Anyway, yawn. Seriously, we've only been hearing this exact same story since I was in grade school. In other words, for more than twenty years now.

I'm not saying that I want there to be a massive earthquake, but seriously, we've been waiting for "the big one" since I can remember, and every time we have a substantial quake, the seismologists hurry onto the teevee and tell us, "Nope, that one wasn't it." After a while, you just wish God would hurry up and kill us all already.